The Witch and the Doll Swear

The increasingly prosperous city fell into silence.

Since that day, the construction sites in the temple and the city have stopped working on the grounds of safety risks, and the excavation progress has stalled. Even the new batch of immigrants who came to the city dug out their own houses for their own living were warned and warned by the soldiers. To dissuade them, the confused citizens asked them the reason, but the soldiers remained silent.

For the residents of Lietopolesta, it was a time of confusion. Although the daily market is still bustling, and the owner of the newly opened tavern is smiling because of the constant flow of customers every day, under the bustle, the workers and citizens seem to smell something unusual.

As for Tina, the girl did not expect that when the stone slab was moved out and the inscriptions on it were deciphered, it would have such a big impact.

"Don't look back, Lietopolesta.

Don't go back, Lietopolesta.

This city was the seat of the Pharaohs and Horus.

This city has been dedicated to the god of the desert and Set.

Don't miss it, move away quickly.

Don't be greedy, don't take it away.

Gold, silver and jewelry are all items worshiped by gods.

The earth and stone mansions are the foundations dedicated to the gods.

Bear all the pain, exchange God for mercy at Sinai, and never see the light of day, then the yellow sand will cease forever.

Don't look for it, it's a hidden city.

Don’t break your covenant with God. "

"If the light of Mullah is restored, the wrath of Seth will be unleashed on Letopolesta, all things will be submerged, and Sinai will be extinct forever..."

The fully translated inscription is more ominous than what the nameless person said in the underground cave.

At that time, Tina was a little confused by the nameless translation. Now that she saw this inscription, she seemed to be able to touch the cold warning poured into these more than 170 words.

Don't let this city see the light of day again.

Don't let this city see the light of day again!

"In ancient Sinai, especially when Letopolesta was the capital of the dynasty, it was indeed common to worship the gods. The people of Sinai used various rituals to worship their gods and pray for peace and blessings, but in any case, The entire city that was once the royal capital was sacrificed as a sacrifice. This is too exaggerated..."

Ai lay on the table and applied the makeup to smooth the dark circles around his eyelids.

In order to determine the identity of the owner of the mansion where the cave and the stone slab were hidden, the appraisers worked intensively for several nights.

The final conclusion is that the two-story hut once belonged to a temple noble. In the era when Letopolesta was not buried in the sand, he was called a sage because of his wisdom and foresight. Liesta served as royal clerk.

Sage.

Tina remembers that Wuming is following the footsteps of the sage.

"Alice remembers the duties of the royal scribes. They were the most senior civil servants and secret keepers in the Sinai palace. Secret documents were compiled by them in cipher text and hidden in extremely secret places. Apart from themselves, only the Pharaoh knew .”

What Miss Doll knows, the priests also know, which undoubtedly adds a footnote to the importance of this stone tablet. In the temple hall used as the meeting room of the excavation team, Isis, Horus, Sobek, Anu Bes, Geb... the spokesperson of the temple insisted that this was an ancient warning, a warning from the sages to the later generations. They should immediately stop all excavation work and leave this city dedicated to the desert.

The opponents are academics.

They claim that if it is a warning to those who come after them, then the stone tablet should not be buried deep under the earth of Sinai and sealed with an unknown mechanism. What is written on the stone tablet may not be alarmist, but it is not necessarily all true. , if they stop here, they may completely miss the truth.

They kept arguing like this, but a few days later, the focus of the argument was no longer here.

The quartermaster from Alexandria claimed that the royal family had spent a lot of money to unearth Leto Polesta and that retreating now would bring huge losses.

The priests of several large temples rebuked their mercenary idea, but the priests of some smaller temples closer to here were shaken.

Their temple is not as wealthy as the temple of La and Isis, and it is also closer to here. They have paid a lot in order to obtain more benefits in the new city, but they have not received any reward yet, so they are not so willing to retreat.

The most important thing is that nearly a thousand immigrants have moved into Lietopolesta. If the excavation is stopped at this time, not only will all the previous efforts be wasted, but the processing of immigrants will also be very difficult.

But there are still objections.

The last sentence of the tablet refers to the eternal destruction of the entire Sinai. Perhaps this is an exaggeration, but the burial of Leto Polesta is already full of mystery.

What's more, no one has a deeper understanding than the priests and scholars present that Sinai is a land of yellow sand, mummies, mysteries and gods, what happened in the interrupted records, and how much is buried under the ancient sea of ​​sand. Secrets that even the wisest dragon cannot exhaust.

They advocated that the excavation should be suspended and all parties should jointly conduct research to clarify the whole story before making plans.

Different voices started to make noise from the beginning of the week to the end of the week. The excavation work was completely stopped, and doubts and uneasiness also pervaded the city.

Even Tina was reluctant to leave the "Lightseeker". The priests and scholars did not leave the temple, and the soldiers remained silent. During this time, people she knew knew that she was related to the members of the excavation team, and they all made detours. , I want to get some clues from her.

People are very perceptive.

Sometimes, even the children who occasionally come to her place to buy some candy ask her what happened at the behest of their parents, which makes her a little tired.

In the end, it was the pharaoh's decree from Alexandria that ended the quarrel.

On the parchment with pine green and pure red lines, the supreme ruler of kingship and theocracy issued an order to continue the excavation with ink mixed with gold powder.

The wording is very clever, asking them to "unravel the mystery of Leto Poresta's burial for thousands of years, and to clarify the possible causes of disasters." And "send additional aid members to assist in excavation and establish a research center."

So, after a week of standstill, excavations continued.

The excavation of the House of Life has slowed down, and the vast number of papyrus scrolls has already overwhelmed the scholars. Thanks to the new members, they will not fall into the predicament of being short-handed.

The repair of the temple has also come to an end temporarily. The workers re-entered behind the two tall tower gates. With the help of a new batch of priests from the Temple of Isis, they began to move from the inner pillar hall to the innermost and most important inner part of the temple. The hall and temple were dug away.

"Speaking of which, aren't there priests of Seth? If this is a city dedicated to the god of Seth, let them ask if there is any relevant record in their temple, or ask their god directly?"

"Miss Tingna's thinking is too naive. If there were records, the scholars would not have been arguing for so long, and."

"After the Thirteen Days of Holy War, the gods disappeared. Didn't Alexandra Camura say that? The gods have not responded to the prayers of the believers for three hundred years, let alone the oracle and divine punishment."

"That's it..."

After some twists and turns, Letopolesta gradually restored its former prosperity.

Every day new houses are unearthed, and new shops are opened along the streets, and those disturbing days seem to be far away to the north with the flowing water of Nero Klei.

Everything is calm. After getting more workers and excavation machines, the speed of excavation of the ruins is getting faster and faster. This submerged ancient city is gradually reappearing the prosperity that only remains in the historical text. Even the children on the street shouted slogans such as "For the glory of the Pharaoh and the gods, let us build Letopolesta".

But in the calm, there is always something. Tingna saw that after the royal salt merchants blasted the small piece of salt mine behind the temple, they also transported the salt mine blocks obtained after the blast, took a boat, and left the city.

Once, Tina heard two soldiers talking. When they first arrived in Letopolesta, a group of local residents tried to stop them, but she wanted to hear more. When a group of children recognized her. Tuo came over, and when the girl finished dealing with these naughty ghosts, the two soldiers had disappeared.

The excavation site does not seem to be so peaceful.

One day, when Tina went to deliver lunch to Liliana and Ai, she overheard words from a room in the temple.

"This is an order from His Majesty the Pharaoh, Lord Hefcanan."

"Oh, Your Majesty Pharaoh, let me guess, who blows into His Majesty's ears?"

"You can think whatever you want, but starting today, the scholars of the Royal Academy will fully 'assist' your research, and I hope we can cooperate happily."

"A group of little guys who haven't even grown their fur yet, and they also said they want to help us? Royal Academy, a dog that only knows how to lick Pharaoh's toes after coming out of such an unpopular place, thanks to you for daring to get involved in serious academics."

"And your hair is too long."

"hehe."

A few minutes later, watching the strange man walk away from the room with a stern face, Ting Na happened to be facing the angry old scholar.

"ah……"

"Oh...Miss Tina, is that little lady still working?"

The look of anger has been replaced by a kind of worry. Seeing Tina, Hefu Canaan smiled again. That little lady—it means Liliana.

"Yeah, Ms. Liliana went back to work with Ms. Alice after lunch..."

"You are still so young, so you will definitely become a great scholar in the future."

"Eh, um, um..."

In fact, Liliana is already a great scholar—it's a pity that Heff Canaan didn't know about it. He looked at Tingna and couldn't help but sigh.

"However, people who blindly pursue the truth and the truth will always ignore many things around them, which is not good."

"Eh?"

"No, I don't intend to preach. Just looking at that child, I have the feeling of seeing myself in the past. I am young and persistent. I must get to the bottom of the questions I want to know the answer to... Forget it, don't say it."

Hef Canaan stroked his sandy beard, smiled, and left.

The next day, the old scholar moved his work place to a certain house outside the temple with the group of scholars who came earlier and their research results.

"……I'm back."

"Ah, um, Miss Liliana, welcome back, well, I've already prepared dinner..."

"...Miss Tina, Ai, and Alice, let's eat first, I... go take a bath."

Liliana's words became less and less.

After returning to the sandboat, the witch always went into the room full of research notes by herself, and always bathed and had dinner alone.

She said nothing, and it was the silence that was all the more disturbing.

Occasionally, late at night, Tina, who woke up from an uneasy sleep, stood in front of the door where the candlelight was leaking, but couldn't muster the courage to walk in.

Even Ai's words were much less, and Tingna saw it several times. It was supposed to be night, when the witch guided her to learn magic. , hesitated several times, but did not knock down.

The girl's footsteps made those wine-red eyes move to this side, and they met each other. Ai and Tingna didn't speak in silence.

After a long time, Ai walked past Tingna and walked into his study where he used to study.

"...Miss Alice, Miss Liliana, is it really all right?"

"Lily is the type to ignore other things once she concentrates, although this is indeed an advantage..."

The little doll sat on the edge of the bathtub below deck in the sandboat and sighed.

"But sometimes, it's not a good thing..."

Tina didn't know if Liliana felt their worries, or was it like Alice said, after focusing on the only goal in front of her, she ignored everything else?

On the deck of the "Lightseeker", Tina spent more time alone, looking at the bustling streets and the ancient Letopolesta in the afterglow or dawn, the girl gradually felt disgusted.

……wrong.

But soon, Tina tightly grasped the whalebone amulet hanging around her neck, and smiled wryly because she realized her true thoughts.

...I just hate being here and not being able to help myself.

……………………………………………………………………………

One day after the excavation resumed, after the night wind mixed with wind and sand blew all night, the sky of Leto Poresta was covered by yellow sand.

The desert storm, the wrath of Seth, the undulating sand dunes are rolled up like sea water in a hurricane in the dancing wind, turning into a curtain covering the sky, but the roar of sand and dust in the wind is stronger than rain Frenzied, they soar freely and dance wantonly, as if the grains of sand dug out of this city are all returned to their homeland.

Whether it's up or down, left or right, the orientation loses its meaning in the wind that crackles and beats anything standing in the sandstorm, tearing any eye that dares to open it, everything is in this storm, everything They were all covered up.

After the sandstorm, the streets that were deserted due to prior warning will be covered with thick yellow sand again.

In the cockpit of the "Lightseeker", Tina looked at the window and could only see the sand beating on the glass.

She sighed and walked down the stairs to the dining room below.

Because of the sandstorm, Liliana and Ai had a day off today. Ai and Liliana, who woke up after the clock pointed to the noon mark after a long sleep, were enjoying their lunch quietly.

However, even during the meal, the witch still looked at the precious treasure that belonged to her and put it aside. On the open book, the words and patterns were written in the color of the aurora. With Liliana's black eyes, Flowing arrangement on the page.

"That...Miss Liliana."

"..."

"Miss Liliana."

"...? Hmm, what's the matter?"

After calling for the second time, the witch raised her head gently, and the pupils of those starry nights seemed to be deeper, as if she was about to fall into that empty and lonely night.

"Lunch... are you satisfied?"

"..."

The witch looked at her hand. On the silver fork, there was still a small piece of venison stuck in it. It smelled like juniper berry cream, and it was already cold.

She had already cut this well-fried piece of venison from the venison a few minutes ago, but until now, the witch put it into her mouth in silence and chewed it carefully.

Although it cannot be compared with the freshest time, the firm ice cream still retains the deliciousness of the venison well. The fresh and tender gravy overflows while chewing, and the cream melts on the tip of the tongue with a salty aroma.

"...Well, it's delicious."

The girl's nervous expression eased slightly.

"Recently, Miss Liliana always returns to the room without saying a word after eating... If you like it, that's great."

"……Um……"

"It's not 'um...'."

Miss Witch, who nodded slightly, was hit by Alice's small fist.

"Lily, there should be a lot to say, right?"

Liliana looked at the little doll shaking her head, and Alice also looked at her with a helpless and reproachful expression.

What is said in the eyes of this pair of partners who have gone through time?

Or, did you say nothing?

The witch looked away, and when Ai, who was immersed in tasting the fried deer steak with juniper berry cream, looked up, her wine-red eyes were illuminated by the candlelight on the dining table, and Liliana's eyes stayed on her face, He looked at the girl who had eaten lunch first.

"..."

There was silence, and then, the witch closed her treasure, and those aurora words and thick books disappeared on the dining table.

"...Sorry, I seem to be too anxious, but don't worry, the next thing to do has already come to a conclusion." "——No, how could it be! Obviously I found some clues with great difficulty, but why? I can't find it, so it's natural to be anxious...Eh? Conclusion?"

"……Um."

As she said that, the witch looked at Ai and Tina, put down the knife and fork, looked at her apprentice and Miss Secretary, lowered her head slightly, and looked at the map around Letopolesta on the table.

When she raised her head again, the witch's face had returned to the clean expression without any haze, and the strange and disturbing deepness disappeared from her eyes, and Liliana no longer looked at those Complicated research notes, concentrated on elegantly cutting the tender and juicy deer steak with a silver knife and fork, and the meal ended in a short while.

"...It's delicious. However, the heat of the frying has not been controlled very well. Anyway, I can't continue to study and work today because of the sandstorm. Miss Tingna, do you want to learn how to cook?"

She put down the kitchen utensils, and after she finished speaking, she also looked at Ai who seemed to want to say something.

"... Ai, do you want to come together?"

"Master Liliana, cooking or something, I have never..."

"...So let's come together? Magicians can't just learn nothing but magic. I will teach Ai some cooking that people who have never held a kitchen knife can cook-after I finish cooking, I will check Ai. The result of a period of self-study."

"Ugh!"

Ai, who hadn't finished her lunch, immediately straightened her back, and her eyes wandered away, not daring to look at the witch, and the crimson color stained her cheeks.

Aware that Ting Na was smiling, Ai gave her a fierce look, but her flushed cheeks made the look completely intimidating.

What's more, Ting Na knows that Liliana is a strict teacher. If she fails to meet the standard in her studies, although there will be no scolding, there will be a small amount of corporal punishment. A soft part beat rhythmically.

For Ai who has never received any corporal punishment since he was a child, this kind of small punishment is more of a serious stimulation of shame than pain and the like. His face was flushed red.

Well, today too.

At night when the desert storm gradually subsided, at dinner time, at the table where Liliana brought the dinner after a long absence, Ai stood beside the chair with a blushing face.

"It's impolite to eat standing up."

"..."

The girl's ridicule was exchanged for a murderous look, ah, so cute.

Tingna found that she liked to tease this proud little princess more and more, and the various reactions were really cute.

The girls had a delightful afternoon amidst the overwhelming dust storm. At night, after the dinner was over, the table and tableware were cleared away, and just as Tina stretched, Liliana suddenly spoke.

"...The sandstorm has almost subsided, so let's go too."

"Eh? Departure... Where are you going?"

"Some oasis nearby."

After Alice gave a concise answer, Liliana brought Ai and Tingna to the cockpit of the sand boat. The witch put her hand on the wheel and injected the light of the aurora.

"... When the excavation of Leto Poresta was just started, some people came to stop it."

"……Eh?"

"Well, I heard from Abohfa that they claim to be the descendants of the tombkeepers, the remnants of the ancient city of Letopolesta, living in a small oasis nearby, near the unknown pharaoh At the beginning of the excavation, they came to dissuade them, saying that the excavation of Letopolesta would lead to terrible disasters. But no one cared at that time, and the priests hoped to have a share in the new city. Soup, scholars are eager to try to fill the gap in history during this period, the royal family firmly wants to restart the city and bring more benefits to the kingdom, so everyone doesn't take it seriously, even drove them away with soldiers gone."

Alice sat on the shoulders of the witch and explained to Tina and Ai.

Immediately, Tina thought of the soldier's conversation she had overheard a few days ago.

The sandstorm has not completely subsided, and in the darkness of night, nothing can be seen clearly outside the window.

The Lightseeker did not raise its mast, nor did its solar sails flutter. After starting the sand boat, the witch went down to the bottom of the deck, opened the mouth of the magic furnace, and filled in some ores of different colors stored in this cabin.

"...The situation in the city is becoming weird. Ms. Tingna may not feel it, but the temple is slacking off. The priests frantically searched for the documents of their own temple around the inscription on the stone slab, hoping to get a stop to the excavation. Strong evidence. On the other hand, the newly sent scholars urged the workers to speed up the excavation, and even caused damage to some ruins..."

The magic furnace started to operate, and Sha Zhou put away the heavy anchor.

Alice began to chant, causing sand-colored light spots to appear around the witch who returned to the cockpit, surrounding her body.

There were delicate creatures in the sphere of light, their delicate wings textured like lizard scales, and their babbling made Liliana turn the tiller.

In the wind and sand, the "Lightseeker" sailed away from the banks of the Nile Klein River, gliding quietly in the city where the road and direction could not be seen clearly.

"It's almost a shame, and the latter's actions are completely unreasonable. They are still seeking more control. The pressure on Apohefa is obviously tricky. Maybe this is another one. It is a power game, and the key to the game is the disposal of Letopolesta, so Lily and Alice feel that they should study more about the inscription on the stone tablet. what do you know."

"But shouldn't the Pharaoh be the supreme leader of the temples? Why did such a conflict occur with the temple..."

"As I said before, since three hundred years ago, the pharaohs of Sinai were no longer Sinai. The pharaohs of the past few generations of the Tomil dynasty did not like the deep-rooted temple forces. The gods belong to the gods, and what belongs to the pharaoh belongs to the pharaoh. It is strange that there is no conflict, and this also involves the conflict between the Sinai people and the elegant people..."

Alice shook her head and said nothing more.

Ting Na was silent, and after a while, she rubbed her face to show that she understood.

"Miss Tina doesn't think it's strange."

This made Alice feel a little regretful, and opened the folding fan to fan the girl.

"Since traveling with Miss Liliana and Miss Alice, how many times have I encountered situations that ordinary people would never encounter?"

Tina sighed, hugged the little doll to her shoulders, and stroked the soft... well, not so soft black hair.

Maybe it's the tougher monster's hair, which feels a little prickly to the touch.

"got used to?"

"No, I can't get used to this kind of thing for the rest of my life, but... this year is the year of the scabbard, and every astrologer has failed to predict it correctly. The year of the scabbard came suddenly. Before I set off, I felt that this year would not Most likely it will be peaceful."

"...That's right, in the sudden year of the scabbard, two catastrophe stars are shining, and no one knows what danger is imminent."

Liliana nodded.

"...So, don't leave my side, Miss Tina, Ai, Alice and I will protect you."

"……Ok, I know."

"I will always be by Master Liliana's side."

After Ai finished speaking, he glanced at Ting Na.

But the girl didn't notice this gaze. She came to the window, and through the glass, even the tall tower wall of the temple, which should be close at hand, could not be seen.

Every time the strong wind blows from the side of the sand boat, it will shake violently. The witch steers steadily in the chords of the elves in the sand, and moves forward along the road that cannot be seen.

This reminded the girl of the waves in her hometown and those fishing boats fighting in the wind and waves. Although the sand is not as changeable as the waves, the strength of the wind makes the girl restless, and sometimes there are howling monsters from the deck, and then Leaving away in an instant, disappearing in the wind and sand.

That is the awe of the wind and the sea engraved in the blood.

In contrast, Ai has no such psychological burden.

Miss Apprentice held a hexagonal lens with a pure gold frame in front of her, observing the elves in the sand and the wind and sand outside the window, and kept recording something in her notebook.

"How big is this sandstorm..."

"...who knows."

"Wait a minute, don't those elves know?"

"These kids just say they're big and—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! There's something, there's something coming—"

The shadow approached in the howling wind, and it was in close contact with the iridescent light curtain on the glass. It was a sand lizard dormant in the sand. After it was thrown away by the wind, a few more colorful poisonous snakes flew over, and were flung on the invisible barrier erected by the witch on the glass, spitting out their letters desperately.

As for the hull, the sound of crashes never stopped, sand, stones, and unlucky creatures that were swept up in the desert storm.

The deeper they go, the more they seem to have strayed into a magical land that swallows everything and sweeps everything. Here there are only deserts and storms to indulge in anger, and the whistling wind makes Tina afraid every time that this little sand boat will die. subversion.

However, although the level of magic in Sinai is nearly ten years behind the forefront of mainland magic, the sand boat they developed according to local conditions has first-class safety. Once leaning towards a frightening angle.

In the end, when the sound of the wind and flying sand stopped coming in all directions, and when the cockpit window was blown away by Alice with the wind to remove the dust and sand, and the bright sky finally appeared in front of them, the gentle moonlight enveloped everything.

Diana's Moon, known in Sinai as Khonsu. In Thebes, known as the firstborn of Ammon and Mut, under the moon of Kongsu, the kingdom is protected from evil and the god of healing.

But greed for power is a terminal illness that no god can cure.

"We... came out?"

"...Well, the speed of sailing in the sandstorm is inevitably affected, and it is slower than expected."

After continuing to drive for several kilometers, Liliana stopped the sand boat, opened the hatch and came to the deck.

There was yellow sand everywhere. Most of the monsters that hit the sand boat did not stay, but there were still a few snakes and a few big shells.

The poisonous snake is dead and just accidentally got tangled up on the railing. Several huge earth-gray shells were still alive, and they spit out a foamy gel to stick themselves to the deck. The witch removed them one by one with magic, and broke them apart one by one. From one of the shells, she took out a few After picking up an irregularly shaped pearl, throw it far away.

These sand shells are like barnacles in the sea, they will cling to something, the glue they secrete is corrosive, and there are already a few ugly grooves on the wooden deck.

Looking from the direction of the boat when she leaned out her body, Tingna saw that the horizon under the night was completely covered by a cloud of yellow smoke, like a sand-colored thick cloud hanging down on the ground, rolling and flowing, passing by The ridges of the dunes are a mess.

"By God... Do Sinai people always face this..."

"It's not the scariest kind."

Beside the girl, Ai picked up a dead black and white ringed snake with a mage's hand, and looked at it with the mirror. Tingna's words made her shake her head:

"According to the records, in most areas of Sinai, such sandstorms come seven or eight times a year. The most terrifying is the desert hurricane. The terrifying wind column with a diameter of more than 100 meters rolls up tens of millions of tons of yellow sand on the ground. Move, no matter what is sucked in, it will be completely shredded. That is a natural disaster of the level of forbidden spells—no, to be precise, many forbidden spells are the result of magicians restoring these natural disasters. A desert hurricane can destroy a city, In the First Era, five provinces of the Kingdom of Sinai were hit by a desert hurricane one year in turn, losing a large number of cities, and the wealthy kingdom directly declined. This became an opportunity for them to break away from the Psychedin Empire and become an ally of the Ancient Word Magic Empire— —Of course, there are also sayings that these hurricanes were caused by the magic emperor of the ancient magic empire at that time."

"..."

Although living by the sea, Jinghai has always been known for its calmness. Tingna has never seen a hurricane. Hearing Ai say this, she imagined a wind column with a diameter of more than 100 meters connecting the sky and the earth, tens of millions of tons of yellow The sand was rolled up, leaving deep ravines where it passed, like the paw prints of death...

She couldn't help shivering, and drew the cross of virtue on her chest.

"...The last real record of a desert hurricane is in the middle of the ancient magic empire. After that, the city of Sinai has never been destroyed by a hurricane..."

The witch who was checking whether the sand boat was damaged suddenly fell silent.

"Strange... Lily, these monsters have the ability to perceive the omens of sandstorms. Before the sandstorm comes, the snake will drill into the bottom of the deep sand dune, and Sabey will stick itself to the nearby rocks. The sand lizard I saw earlier They're going to make holes, go really deep. But they're all caught in the sandstorm."

Beside Alice, the elves in the desert had already calmed down. The little puppet recognized these monsters and sat on the witch's shoulder, lost in thought.

"...One possibility is that the intensity of the sandstorm surpassed the instinctive predictions of these monsters, resulting in insufficient preparations. The other possibility...they didn't foresee this sandstorm?"

"It is unlikely that there is no premonition. The natural formation of sandstorms does not happen in an instant, and the perception of sandstorms through various omens is the instinct of these monsters to survive in the desert..."

"..."

"..."

The witch and the puppet fell silent at the same time.

Looking at the oasis not so far away and the dilapidated houses beside the spring, they returned to the cockpit without saying a word.

The solar sail is up again.

At night, the aurora-colored sails absorb the magic power of the moonlight, and the stored fuel needs to be saved, so Liliana asked Ai to take out the ore from the "Light Seeker" magic furnace first.

But there was no one around the oasis.

Flies and mosquitoes buzzed about the ruined fields, destroyed and burned houses, and stabbed livestock.

It all casts a cloud over the green gem of the desert.

"It's cruel..."

"There's no one here anymore..."

Tina and Ai searched everywhere, but couldn't find anything among the remnants of the settlement that had turned gray in the dusty wind.

"Obviously Apokhfa and the others didn't just 'drive away' them..."

Alice snorted coldly, her expression was not very good-looking.

"...Apohefa said that after the persuasion failed, these people gathered and tried to stop the excavation team by force. They sneaked into Letopolesta at night and killed several scholars and priests. Think again If they are really the guardians of the tomb, then they are the guardians of the ancient dynasty... It has not been a year or two since the pharaohs of Tomil have been disgusted with these ancient remains of Sinai."

Looking around the sand, Liliana picked up a broken spear from a burnt house.

It was not the style Tina had seen in the hands of the guards of Letopolesta during this time. The golden spear tip was simple and gorgeous. It was obvious that these tomb guards resisted when they were driven away.

But in this way, their fate may be even worse.

"This happened a few months ago, Master Liliana, what should we do now..."

Ai twisted her hair in thought.

They came to ask the residents who might know the inscription on the stele, but if they had been killed, no one could ask them even with undead magic.

But even if there are still survivors, they should have migrated to other places within a few months, which is even more impossible to find.

Looking at the broken spear, Liliana suddenly raised her head.

"...Let's go."

"Huh? Going back to Letopolesta?"

"……No."

The witch shook her head and raised the broken spear.

Pointing to the farther away, the magnificent building standing quietly under the night and moonlight.

There are too many legends and secrets about these tombs where pharaohs are buried. There are so many legends and secrets that Tinna, who grew up on the southeast coast of the mainland, and Aidu, who grew up in the north country, are familiar with them. Those countless treasures cannot be dug up. The endless secret, the past contract between the ancient gods and the benevolent and wise king...

Fascinated? Or is it awe?

Sha Zhou gradually approached, and the mausoleum under the sky became taller and taller. Even looking up, I couldn't fully see the reality of the top, and was gradually shocked by the huge rock that became clearer and clearer.

The name of the pyramid has been lost in history, and which pharaoh is sleeping here. So far, scholars in Sinai have not made a conclusion. Maybe the excavation of Letopolesta can end this mystery, but now, nothing can be done. Sure.

This wasn't the biggest pyramid, but even so, Tingna couldn't help but feel awe when she looked at the huge stone blocks that were almost one meter high.

But it didn't take long for the awe to turn to horror.

The sand boat stopped, and Tina looked back at the cockpit. The sound of the wind passed by her ears. On the deck where she was about to raise her legs, an arrow feather was nailed above.

"……Eh."

It took a moment for the girl to realize what had happened.

The face looking at the cockpit turned back stiffly, and Tina looked at the stone steps.

Although from a distance, every edge of the pyramid is straight, but when you get closer, you will find that although some parts are still filled and smoothed by other building materials, at the bottom, more places have been exposed. stacked stones.

The arrow came from one of the stone steps, and Tina could clearly see a boy with a braid holding a bow in his hand, the bow string was already drawn taut, and another arrow rested on it.

"——!!!!!!——!"

He was yelling something, it was probably a common language, but the accent was so thick that it almost turned what he said into another language. Tingna couldn't understand it, and she didn't know how to respond. After thinking about it, She waved her hands and shouted to the boy:

"Wait a minute, we mean no harm!"

Her response was an arrow that hit the magic shield.

"——!!!——!!!!"

Tingna looked at the arrow that fell from not far in front of her. The straight arrow shaft was plated with gold and engraved with ancient words. She didn't know whether it was a curse to the enemy or a blessing to hit the arrow.

"...Miss Tina, what's wrong?"

"Ah, Miss Liliana, there is someone on the pyramid. It is a boy. It seems that he is very unfriendly to us... Miss Liliana guessed right, the survivors of the oasis have indeed hid here..."

The broken spear found in the oasis was made of bronze plated with gold, and it was beautifully carved. This is obviously not the case with ordinary weapons-although it can indeed be used as a weapon, such a spear is usually a ceremonial tool.

Since Tingna and the others searched around but couldn't find the blacksmith's forge in the oasis, the source of the broken spear can be expected.

Without a blacksmith, of course, this kind of thing can't be made, and the rest is just bought or...taken from somewhere.

If it is indeed descended from the Tomb Keepers, it would make total sense to take some weapons from the nearby pyramids to protect yourself and the tomb.

When the Witch and Ai walked out of the cockpit after changing their clothes, there were already a lot of arrows falling on the deck. The boy squawked, as if he didn't understand why his arrow couldn't hit Tina who was standing still.

Seeing other people coming out of the sand boat, the boy immediately turned the direction of the bow and arrow.

But Alice was not as good-tempered as Tina. The arrow was bound by the wind halfway, turned around, and nailed to the boy's bow at a faster speed than when it came.

The short golden bow inlaid with turquoise and embossed with an eagle snapped instantly, flew out of the boy's hand, and hit the stone steps of the pyramid. The boy stared at the short bow that fell under the pyramid for a while, then screamed and crawled towards a hole in the pyramid.

"Sure enough, it's the tribe of the tomb guard."

"Master Liliana's guess is correct. If she is really a tomb guard, she will definitely not leave the guarded tomb easily."

"...This position is always accompanied by oaths and curses. To some extent, what supports them is mission and fear."

Ai picked up a delicate arrow, Tina rubbed the ring, closed the magic shield and nodded.

"This can also explain why they seem to be very hostile to us, because we are coming from the direction of Leto Poresta."

"This saves trouble, and you don't need to waste time looking for a way to enter the pyramid."

"But Miss Alice, I don't think they will help us properly..."

Ai put away those arrows and looked at the witch uncertainly.

"...we are magicians, Ai, but what we live on is not magic, but wisdom."

Liliana just smiled lightly and didn't say much.

Soon, a fire appeared in the hole the boy had entered.

Three or five teenagers came out holding torches. The desert was very cold after nightfall. Each of them was wrapped in fur, carried a bow, and had hatchets and axes hanging from their waists. An old man leaning on a cane was protected by them in the middle.

Looking at the sand boat at the foot of the pyramid, the old man said in fear, wondering what the boy said to them, which made these people look so dignified.

"Honorable Lord Witch, please forgive the child's offense, we were just driven here, and we don't want to suffer greater disasters..."

He also spoke with an accent, but it was more standard than that boy's.

"Nor did we intend to bring disaster."

This part of the negotiation is still done by Ai.

"We are here for Letopolesta and hope to hear something from you."

When Ai said these words, angry expressions appeared on the faces of the teenagers. Several teenagers seemed to want to say something, but the old man blocked their mouths with a cane, and finally lowered their heads in shame. .

Only the eyes burned with hatred.

"...Did you, who dug up the city that shouldn't be dug up, finally realize it? Or, did you finally see it? The stone tablet left by the sage..."

"...It's a stele."

Liliana raised her head.

These people really know something.

The old man let out a long sigh.

"Please come here. When our hometown was trampled by soldiers' horseshoes, we thought about forever burying the secrets we have guarded for generations under the yellow sand, but that is our mission after all. Please come with us."

After speaking, the old man and those men walked into the pyramid.

"..."

Slightly raising her eyebrows, the witch holding the doll walked down the gangway of the sand boat without hesitation. Ting Na and Ai quickly followed behind and climbed up the tall stones.

Walking into the entrance, the long corridor slanted downward, so narrow that two people could barely squeeze through it side by side. After a while, the road forked, and the tomb was illuminated by torches and candles placed in copper basins. Pray to the idol.

It's just that the statues there are not any sculptures with animal faces and human bodies.

"...You don't believe in the Nine Pillars God?"

Ai quietly told Liliana about this discovery, and what the girl heard from the women's babbling prayers was not any of the famous gods in the land of Sinai.

The prayers were the same prayers, but they did not pray to any of the Enneaders, the statue of a woman clad in fig-leaves and wicker whom they called the Daughter of the Dawn.

"We once believed in the God of Nine Pillars, the Lord of the Desert and the Storm, and the glory of the God Ra, and abided by the mission and precepts passed down from generation to generation by our ancestors."

In front of the tomb, the team did not stop.

"But what have we got?"

After the old man finished speaking, he sighed.

Thinking of the destroyed oasis settlement, Tingna fell silent.

Continuing down, she came to a larger tomb. Here, Tingna saw more people, but almost no young people, only women, old people, and a few children.

They spread some animal skins on the ground as beds, and lay down on the sand. When they saw them coming, their eyes showed fear and uneasiness.

Very quiet, in this room where carols and praises are painted with colorful paint on the stone walls, the wind is blowing and it is very cold.

The flames danced on the candlesticks on the wall, and shadows danced wildly. The old oil was still emitting black smoke, like ghosts in the mausoleum, swimming on the walls.

That is their shadow.

"Why is there such a strong wind in the pyramid?"

"Our tomb guards have declined a long time ago, and the tomb of the great pharaoh has been robbed and excavated many times, sometimes by thieves obsessed with money, and sometimes by armies one by one. It’s cold, but at least it allows us to light a torch and sleep soundly without worrying about suffocation in our sleep.”

"……Yeah."

"plz follow me."

The old man said, passing through here.

Then, there are two consecutive tombs. Alice told Tingna and Ai that these were once the rooms where the pharaoh's funeral objects were piled up, and his achievements and stalwarts during his lifetime were depicted with paint blended with gold and silver.

But now in these rooms there are only terrified people, only sad and weeping people, with hearths and water tanks.

These containers are all ancient cultural relics, perhaps because they were too large or not valuable enough to be abandoned by grave robbers, and became the living utensils of these people. The colors on the walls became more vivid as they went deeper. When passing through these two tombs, Liliana suddenly stopped before the passage leading to the next tomb.

She stared at the pattern on the wall of the passageway—it was a map, maps of Sinai, blurred with time, but she could still see many places marked on them and icons of what they represented.

The two most numerous illustrations, one is a yellow cloud, and the other is a vortex, like a whirlpool in the sea.

"...Is this a map?"

"No, that's the date."

"Calendar?"

"We only know that it is a chronicle, but we don't know what kind of chronicle it is, as if we know that the digging of Leto Poresta will cause a disaster, but we don't know what kind of disaster it is."

While speaking, the old man had already reached the end of the corridor.

"This was originally a secret room, here is everything you want to know, the secrets that our family has hidden for generations, about Letopolesta...about Sinai."

Here is another tomb, much smaller, and there are traces of being forcibly smashed open on the corridor. Perhaps this was once a secret room, but it is now unimpeded.

The girls walked in, and the old man directed the boys to sweep away the sand on the floor.

But the layered yellow sand was very thick, and the teenagers had no tools, so they picked up the sand with both hands, and it took a long time to reveal the black stone bricks below.

"It's really inefficient."

Alice clapped her hands, and the yellow sand covering the ground moved by itself, rushing towards the four corners of the room and the corridor. The teenagers were frightened and looked at the little doll in fear, and the old man's face froze slightly. .

When the sand receded, the floor of the tomb appeared in front of everyone.

"Another...a map?"

Tina looked at Liliana and Ai with some uncertainty.

The floor is a whole rock, and what is drawn on it is another map of Sinai, which is larger, more detailed and exquisite, without those icons, replaced by more patterns covering the map.

There are also large sections of holy scriptures around the margins, like commentaries.

"I don't know, it looks like a map, but we don't know what it is."

"Isn't this a secret that you have guarded for generations?"

Ai raised his eyebrows and looked at the old man suspiciously.

But the old man just shook his head.

"It was a secret guarded by our ancestors from generation to generation. Now, we only know that it is that secret, just like that sacred text..."

He pointed to the large section of holy scriptures with his cane.

From Tina's point of view, they are birds, people, and the patterns of circles and ropes are neatly arranged, but he said the meaning of the text:

"'Letopolesta will never see the light of day. For the sake of Sinai and for the eternal prosperity and well-being of this land in the future, it must not be excavated, nor should its existence be revealed. Let the great pharaoh and the great king together Hidden under the yellow sands of history'—this text is passed down word of mouth in our tribe, but no one knows what it means. Like this picture, we know that this is the secret we guard ,But……"

The old man lamented desolately.

"But we don't know what it is, but we have paid so much blood so far."

"...The Thirteenth Holy War?"

Liliana stared at the map, then raised her head. Hearing what the witch said, the old man's wrinkled face tensed up, and then he nodded.

"Since then, we have left only a few inheritances."

"……I see."

Liliana nodded, and looked at the map again, thinking.

Tina looked at Liliana, then at Ai and Alice, and found that except for herself, who had no knowledge of magic, they were all thinking solemnly.

But Ai quickly shook his head and sighed, as if giving up, he left Liliana's side and stood beside Tingna.

"Miss Ai, do you have any ideas?"

"Not at all. My magic knowledge is all about the modern magic system, but the one on this picture is not."

The girl had curly black hair hanging down her shoulders, and her tone was a bit distressed.

"If you think about it, you know that when Letopolesta was buried, it was still in the middle of the ancient language magic empire. At that time, the founder of modern magic had not yet been born, so what is needed here is the knowledge of ancient language magic, but now it has been completely destroyed. In the replaced magic system, except for a few scholars who specialize in research, most magicians do not have the corresponding knowledge."

"...Ai is right. This is a magic circle of ancient language magic. If it is only used for deduction, it may not use much knowledge of ancient language magic."

"Eh? A magic circle..."

"...Well, a super-large-scale magic circle covering the entire Sinai."

The witch drew lines of light with magic power in the air, and after connecting several heraldry-like patterns composed of patterns and holy scriptures on the map, a circle surrounding the entire land of Sinai appeared in everyone's eyes. before.

The distribution of these coats of arms is not uniform, but some of the outermost ones form a circle exactly after being connected.

"...Miss Tina, remember what I said before, after a certain period of time, Sinai has never been hit by desert hurricanes—there is no official or local record, does this matter?"

"Huh? Mmm..."

"...Then, in the corridor ahead, there are chronicles lined up, those yellow cloud icons, and swirl-like icons, Miss Tingna thinks, what does that mean?"

"Hmm...yellow clouds and swirls...ah!"

It's a sandstorm.

Not long ago, the "Light Seeker" passed through the desert storm that enveloped Letopolesta, and I was on the deck looking in the direction they were coming from.

At that time, my feeling was that the overwhelming dust storm was like thick clouds falling from high altitude to the ground, rolling and sweeping unstoppably.

"...Of course, this is still speculation, and there is no real evidence."

Liliana nodded, and walked from the edge of the map to a certain place on the map.

"...However, the inscription on the stone tablet of Topolesta mentions that the city was dedicated to the desert in exchange for the safety of Sinai..."

The pair of feet, covered in translucent tulle and wearing exquisite sandals, stopped in front of a point.

When the ring of light clearly emerged, the location of that point also became obvious.

There is Letopolesta.

There is……

Just when the witch was about to conjecture and draw a conclusion.

"Enough, stop imposing the burden of secrecy upon us!"

A teenager spoke up.

He said this sentence twice, the second time, Alice, who was upset because Liliana was interrupted, understood it.

The little puppet looked at the young man and the old man with raised eyebrows.

"...Please don't look at us with those eyes, this is a decision made by all of us survivors together."

The old man spoke slowly.

"Oh? It seems that those people in the temple didn't just 'expel' you."

"Deportation? Oh, that's a massacre."

The old man raised his head and grinned. His yellow teeth, which had been severely worn by the wind and sand, roared angrily as if they were about to be crushed.

"We followed the precepts of our ancestors to stop the excavation of Letopolesta, but in exchange for horses, soldiers, cold bows and spears, in order for us to escape, my son and grandson, the father and father of these boys Brother, the husbands and children of those women, who were impaled and eaten by hyenas and vultures on the dunes, what did this mission bring us? Riches? Honor? No."

The old man's voice twisted and resentful at the mention of the dead.

"If it weren't for some people who extended a helping hand to us, we would all have died in the desert. This mission only took away our relatives and homes! So at that time we decided to give up this mission, even if Anu Biss will also forgive us, because we have done our best!" His chest was beating like an old bellows, igniting the cold night wind into burning anger-but he was old after all, Tina saw After he finished speaking, the whole person seemed to be languid, coughing violently.

"If you hadn't come, we wouldn't have risked our lives to go to Letopolesta, no matter what kind of disaster there... But since you are here, please take this away, destroy it, We've had enough..."

"...I see. There is indeed no reason to blame you for giving up your mission. It is true that there are some things that are better not known."

The witch's expression didn't change at all, she let go of Alice, and took out some cloth, a ceramic knife, and some powder and liquid that Tina couldn't recognize from the space storage ring.

"...Since you don't want it, I'll take this away."

"Take it away? But Miss Liliana, our space storage rings are..."

Tingna looked at the size of the room. This map of Sinai was engraved on a whole stone slab on the ground, without the slightest trace of seams. It is even possible that this floor is a large piece of complete rock, and Maps are etched in rocks...

Do you want to move the whole rock?

Looking at the confused Tingna, Liliana shook her head lightly, but did not answer.

"... Now, let's all leave this room."

With an indifferent voice, she asked everyone to leave the room and go to the corridor. Then, the witch came to the wall of the room, pierced the paper knife with iridescent magic light into the rock, and drew a circle along the edge of the floor. . Following the traces of the rainbow light, the magic circle lit up on the rock, and the paper and other spell-casting materials in the witch's hand disappeared in the magic light, and then.

""Liliana mural stripping technique". "

The interpretation of the silent singing was shattered. When the aurora-colored iridescence and the light illuminating the tomb disappeared, a corner of the floor, like a rolled-up book page, turned up.

Under Tingna's stunned and Ai's bright eyes, the witch rolled up the black rock along the raised corner like a carpet.

The floor of the tomb was cut off by almost one centimeter, including those young people and Tingna. They were all shocked. After Liliana put the storage ring in the space, a young man stretched out his hand and pinched it hard. He shook his arm, wondering if he was hallucinating.

Soon he got a negative answer, because another young man who was strangled by him stepped on him hard, and their gazes at the witch completely turned into awe, as if they were afraid that if they took another look, they would also change. It became such a roll of "carpet" and was taken away by the witch.

Only the old man looked at the ground where there was nothing left, and breathed a sigh of relief for a long, long time.

However, it was obvious that Liliana had no interest in taking them away. After the stripping was completed, the witch walked past the old people and the young people, and walked straight to the corridor where they came.

Passing by the statue where people were still worshiping and praying, the witch stopped, looked at the graceful female sculpture, and shook her head after looking at it for a long time.

"...I understand your difficulties, but you must know that it is not a wise choice to accept beliefs of unknown origin."

"You don't understand, my lord witch, when we were brutally expelled from our homes by the soldiers, and we were exiled in the desert to endure the burning, they were the ones who saved us, and it wasn't some unknown belief, those people were Nilok Villagers in a small village over Leigh, with whom we occasionally did business before this disaster befell."

"People are not people with unknown origins, and beliefs are still beliefs with unknown origins. What did those missionaries promise you? Revenge? Wealth? Don't worry about the curse of breaking your oath?"

"It was God who abandoned us first!!"

A woman who was praying suddenly turned her face away, screaming hoarsely, the hatred in her bloodshot eyes was ignited like a flame, if she was not still kneeling and did not intend to stand up, Tina would have He thought she would get up roaring and pounce on Alice and Liliana.

"We dutifully did everything we could do but in exchange for such a result, what face do they have to cast a curse on us!!"

"Yeah, God abandoned you, so you were afraid of the punishment you might suffer if you broke your vow, and you found a new god to worship, without even thinking about if God really wanted to punish you. Will the God who came out have the ability to protect you..."

The little puppet shook his head with a sneer,

In fact, this is not a problem. When the girls passed by again, some women's prayers had come to the end, and they shouted "bring a new and beautiful dawn to Sinai" and kept repeating. Generally speaking, this is The bright future promised by the Faith of the Lady of the Dawn is gone.

How should I put it, he really is a God with ideals.

"Forget it, Lily and Alice are not priests of the temple. What you believe in has nothing to do with us. Then, Miss Tina, Ai, let's go back to Letopolesta."

The witch nodded silently, and left the pyramid with Tingna and Ai.

"……ah!!"

"Our ship!!"

As soon as she walked out of the long corridor, Ting Na was stunned.

At the foot of the pyramid, the docked sand boat ignited a raging fire and turned into a blazing torch under the night sky.

It looks like it has been burned for a long time.

Black smoke filled the air, and several boys were jumping and jumping not far away. Pots and torches nearly as big as they were were beside them, and the boys stopped at the cries of Ai and Tina, staring at them wordlessly with eyes filled with engraved hatred.

Ai's expression turned gloomy for an instant, and the girl raised her hand without hesitation.

In the dark red magic circle, the elements of the flame condensed into small flames, dyed in a pitch black color. The desert at night was dry and cold, and the fire element became thinner without the sunlight, but even so, the black flame was still there. Gradually increasing, it became able to swallow those boys.

"...Ai, stop."

"But, Master Liliana!"

"stop."

"...I just want to punish him a little..."

The black fire dissipated.

The witch reached out and stroked her apprentice's little head, and nodded with some approval.

"...The technique of stopping the spell is very skillful, Aonian, you taught me very well."

"Now, it's not such a problem now!"

"Yeah, Miss Liliana, these guys..."

Ai looked at the sand boat that had turned into a torch, and Tingna also bit her lip and looked angrily at the people in the corridor.

If Ai's fireball was thrown out just now, Tingna would raise her hand without hesitation, and use the ring on her hand to teach these fellows who are revengeful.

But the witch acted as if she didn't hear it. She looked at Sha Zhou, then turned around leisurely, and looked at the old man standing in front of all the boys.

"Are you satisfied?"

"...Ahhh, you guys can't get back to that damned city in time, even if you manage to get back, it's already too late."

The old man's originally timid and muddy eyes were narrowed under the firelight, and his dry and wrinkled lips let out vicious voices, and the flames of hatred were also shining in those eyes.

"This is us, powerless, able to take revenge on this damned world..."

This sudden change stunned both Tingna and Ai, but Liliana just nodded calmly, "As expected, you have left a lot of things that can be called inheritance." She said so.

"Unfortunately, it can't keep up with the times."

Then, Alice snapped her fingers.

The cold night wind suddenly blew violently around the "Lightseeker", and the boys were blown away like fallen leaves, rolling a few times in the desert and planted in the sand dunes, while the sand boat.

The raging flames were extinguished.

There are only slight scorching marks on the wooden hull.

"...This is a merchant ship-sized sand boat. When doing business in the desert, the most worrying thing is that some goods will burn under the sun and heat... Therefore, the fire performance of the "Light Seeker" is very high. Although it looks like the fire is burning very big, it is because the oil in the pyramid is a high-grade product with a big flame..."

The witch looked expressionlessly at the old man who finally showed real fear, her tone did not change at all.

But it was this tone that seemed to shatter the old man's last courage.

He screamed and threw away his cane, then pushed away the youths holding spears and swords, pushed them to the ground, stepped on their bodies and ran towards the depths of the corridor. Although the pushed boy was still holding a weapon, But there was no fighting intent in their eyes. Facing those fearful eyes, Alice just took out a few pieces of papyrus, and they dropped their weapons, and fled to the depths screaming.

A few minutes later, prayers echoed in the corridor. Those people, led by the old man, prayed to "Ms. Dawn", hoping that she would bring divine punishment to the witches...

Both Ting Na and Ai were stunned by this dramatic change.

Liliana and Alice shrugged indifferently, and walked down the stone.

As for the boys... they were desperately covering themselves with sand, not even trying to hide in this way.

"What's the matter..."

"...? It's just people with a grudge trying to get revenge, nothing to pay attention to."

"But, but, when did Miss Liliana notice it..."

"...No, I didn't notice it. I just thought of it after seeing the sand boat on fire. They are incapable of avenging the excavation team. The only thing they can rely on is the curse of Letopolesta's reappearance. That's why they thought Trying to burn the sandboat and drag us here... at least it shows that they are not as ignorant as they say they are."

"Master Liliana, she doesn't seem to care at all."

"...why should you care?"

Liliana replied indifferently, and put her hand on the wheel.

The prayer in the pyramid seemed to be continuing, but the witch just calmly started the sand boat and headed towards Letopolesta.

"A group of poor fellows, can they really expect that Ms. Liming to answer their prayers? Even the evil gods choose believers, not to mention that Lily dissected a hundred or eighty evil gods back then..."

"...Alice."

"Ah, sorry sorry, Alice didn't say anything—"

...It seems that I heard something very serious.

The corners of Ting Na's mouth twitched, and Ai was stunned.

"...In short, they are just a group of poor guys. We have no obligation or plan to do anything for them. Of course, there is nothing worth caring about. If they really want revenge..."

The witch glanced at Tina and spoke leisurely.

"...Maybe that will cause some troubles, at least for Miss Tingna's sake, I can't kill them."

"...Even I'm not that pedantic!"

Tina puffed up her face, the witch smiled lightly, and then spoke lightly.

"...Don't pin your hopes on gods. Even if there is a god who is really bored and wants to help, you still have to do what you should do yourself. This is the rule—and it was told to me by His Majesty the True God himself."

...and said something incredible!

And this time Miss Liliana said it herself!

Tingna and Ai looked at each other, and they both looked at the pyramid that was gradually moving away through the glass of the cockpit.

The entrance to the passage still glowed with fire, and perhaps their prayers continued.

But like Alice said, the Lady of the Dawn didn't send any divine punishment—or anything like that.

There is still a long time to go before the dawn of Sinai.

……………………………………………………………………………

Words from a certain night:

"That...Miss Alice, can I ask something?"

"Um?"

"Miss Alice said that Miss Liliana dissected the evil god..."

"About this..."

"……Um."

"When the time comes, Miss Tina will know."

"...Mm...it's like this again...okay."

"Miss Tingna won't continue to ask?"

"Since Miss Alice said that she will know when the time comes, I won't ask now, but correspondingly, you must tell me when the time comes."

"Well, we have an appointment."